Frodo Mappins of the Shire

Cartographer, Adventurer, and Reluctant Hero of the Open Map

Greetings! I am Frodo Mappins, humble hobbit of Bag End, and perhaps the Shire’s most enthusiastic mapper of paths, pubs, and particularly troublesome rabbit holes.

You see, it all began when I inherited Bag End from my Uncle Bilbo (who, between you and me, was rather cavalier about documenting which round door led to the pantry and which led to a broom closet). After getting lost in my own home for the third time in a fortnight—emerging from what I thought was the study only to find myself in the root cellar covered in turnips—I realized the folly of unmapped spaces. A hobbit’s home has forty-seven rooms and no fewer than sixty-three cupboards, and if you can’t map that, how can you hope to find second breakfast?

Thus began my obsession with OpenStreetMap, the grandest adventure a hobbit could undertake without leaving the comfort of elevenses! I’ve mapped every lane in Hobbiton, documented all seventeen entrances to the Green Dragon Inn (there’s a secret one by the ale barrels, you know), and even charted the treacherous path through Farmer Maggot’s mushroom fields. While other hobbits concern themselves with pipe-weed and seed-cake recipes, I’ve taken it upon myself to ensure that no hobbit shall ever again wander into a troll-infested wood simply because the footpath wasn’t properly marked. Bilbo always said, “It’s a dangerous business going out your door,” but I say it’s considerably less dangerous when you’ve got accurate geospatial data!

My mapping philosophy is simple: if it exists between breakfast and supper, it deserves to be on the map. From the Old Forest to the Brandywine Bridge, from hobbit-holes to tea shops, I’ve surveyed it all with my trusty GPS device (which, admittedly, confused the neighbors until I told them it was a “very sophisticated compass from the Elves”). Some call me mad for spending my afternoons triangulating the precise location of particularly excellent blackberry bushes, but I call it necessary. After all, one does not simply walk into unmapped territory—one needs proper documentation, several backup routes, and ideally, a legend indicating which paths have the best views for elevenses. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve just discovered a previously uncharted shortcut to the Ivy Bush, and cartographic duty calls!